1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage material having a bottle closing machine for applying screw caps or screw tops to bottles.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine. Upon filling, a closing station closes the filled bottles. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. Bottles may be labeled in a labeling station, the labeling station having a conveyer arrangement to receive bottles and to output bottles. The closing station and the labeling station may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement.
Capping machines for the capping of bottles with screw caps that are fastened by fitting or screwing onto a male thread on the bottle in the vicinity of the bottle mouth are known in various models. Basically, the application of the individual cap is performed with a capping element or capping cone in which the bottle cap is held until it is applied to a bottle, and which can be rotated by a drive to place the cap on the bottle or to screw the cap onto the bottle.
On a machine of this type it is essential that during the application of the cap, i.e. during the tightening process, the bottle in question must be secured to prevent it from rotating along with the capping cone, i.e. so that it is held non-rotationally, and also so that the bottle can execute a tracking movement during the tightening process to compensate for the reduction of the total bottle/cap length that occurs.
Capping machines of the prior art have a plurality of capping positions on a rotor that can be driven around a vertical machine axis, each of which capping positions has a capping cone and a bottle or container carrier which, when the rotor rotates, can be moved up and down in a movement controlled by a lifting cam, and specifically to deliver the individual bottle to the capping cone before the tightening and for the extraction of the capped bottle from the capping cone.
The tracking movement of the bottles during the tightening on capping machines of the prior art is also achieved by raising the bottle carrier. One problem on these capping machines is the difficulty of securing the bottles to prevent rotation, particularly when the bottles in question are returnable bottles and especially returnable plastic or PET bottles. Of course, on disposable PET bottles, the bottles can be secured to prevent rotation during the tightening process by spikes. With returnable bottles, however, and in particular with returnable PET bottles, this method cannot be used simply because of the damage that results and increases as the speed of revolution increases, which damage is found to be unacceptable by consumers.